More than 100 people are known to have been killed and hundreds more injured after an earthquake in Sichaun province, China.
According to state officials the death toll from the quake, which registered a 6.6 rating on the Richter scale, could be set to rise as relief efforts and rescue operations continue in the region.
Sichuan province, in the south-west of the country, was decimated by a similar earth in 2008, which killed thousands of citizens and left millions homeless.
It has been reported that power, water and telephone lines are down across the region, specifically Lushan county.
The earthquake struck Sichuan at 8am local time
One resident in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, told the BBC that the quake caused huge confusion in the city.
Aaron Ozment said that he "threw on a some clothes quickly and made my way into the courtyard of my complex," and that "making calls was almost impossible; everybody was trying to contact everybody they knew."
Sky News have reported that a truck carrying 17 soldiers plummeted off a cliff in the region, with one dying and other seriously injured, while a pregnant woman gave birth in a bike shelter just hours after the initial quake.
It has also been reported that some 2,000 Chinese soldiers have been dispatched to Sichuan province, while the country's premier, Li Keqiang, is en route to the province to supervise the rescue efforts.